Police first arrested Premer in the morning hours of June 9, 2010. She had been trying to engage in prostitution along the 3600 block of Harbor Boulevard, near well-trimmed business parks, a law school and a closed steakhouse.

The official charge was loitering to commit prostitution, a misdemeanor in California. The officers handcuffed her, booked her at police headquarters and then, like most suspected prostitutes, released her with a promise to appear for a future court date.

But before that date came, Premer was back in handcuffs.

Santa Ana police arrested her two weeks later at the same place, at nearly the same time and for doing the same thing. She was booked and released for a second time, saving jail space for those accused of more serious crimes.

In both instances, police arrested Premer as part of organized sweeps. Uniformed and undercover officers patrolled the boulevard and targeted anyone suspected of selling, buying or arranging sex. On Harbor, it can be like catching fish in a barrel.

Premer’s third arrest was a little different though. The Police Department set up a more complex operation in July 2010 aimed at luring prostitutes along the boulevard. Court records show Premer took the bait and agreed to sell sex to an undercover officer.

Police charged her with a harsher misdemeanor, agreeing to engage in prostitution, bringing the total number of charges to three in one summer. She potentially faced months in jail and thousands of dollars in fines.

Though Premer’s case attracted no media attention at the time, it illustrates the enormous amount of resources that Santa Ana police have invested in arresting suspected prostitutes and why the strategy may not be working. Despite thousands of arrests, women like Premer continue returning to Harbor Boulevard.

Santa Ana’s aggressive strategy isn’t unusual among law enforcement agencies, but the scale of its initiative has become extraordinary. County prosecutors have filed nearly 5,000 prostitution-related cases sent over by Santa Ana police since 2003.

In 2010, Santa Ana police reported 672 prostitution arrests, more than all other Orange County jurisdictions combined and more than most major police departments in the state. Only Los Angeles and San Diego, cities more than four times the size of Santa Ana, reported more.

The scale of Santa Ana’s war on prostitution is not widely known, even among those close to Orange County’s underground sex industry. Area advocates, researchers and law enforcement authorities were stunned to learn how many prostitution arrests Santa Ana police make each year. Most local agencies report few, if any. Millions of dollars in public resources have been spent.

But an examination of Santa Ana’s initiative by the Orange County Register raises serious questions about its value.

While some Santa Ana residents say there is now less prostitution, experts who study crime-fighting techniques say the initiative focuses on the wrong people and only provides temporary relief. In general, experts say, police should target men who encourage prostitution and should make greater efforts to connect women with social services. One such initiative in San Francisco has been praised and has been adopted by Los Angeles and San Diego.

Related Links

Santa Ana police Cpl. Manny Moreno, left, and Officer Matt Lemmon, right, process a woman who was arrested during a prostitution sweep of Harbor Boulevard on Dec. 19. FILE PHOTO: KEVIN SULLIVAN, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Santa Ana police Officer Matt Lemmon, left, and Cpl. Manny Moreno process a woman who was arrested during a prostitution sweep of Harbor Boulevard on Dec. 19. FILE PHOTO: KEVIN SULLIVAN, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Cigarettes, condoms and a cellphone are laid out on the sidewalk near a woman waiting to be processed by Santa Ana police Dec. 19. She was arrested during a prostitution sweep of Harbor Boulevard. FILE PHOTO: KEVIN SULLIVAN, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A woman arrested during a prostitution sweep of Harbor Boulevard on Dec. 19 sits in the back of a Santa Ana police car. FILE PHOTO: KEVIN SULLIVAN, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Santa Ana police Officer Joe Hamlin checks out text messages on the phone of a woman arrested during a prostitution sweep of Harbor Boulevard on Dec. 19. FILE PHOTO: KEVIN SULLIVAN, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Text messages from a man suspected of being a pimp are displayed on the cellphone of a woman arrested during a prostitution sweep Dec. 19. FILE PHOTO: KEVIN SULLIVAN, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Santa Ana police Cpl. Manny Moreno loads a woman into the back of a van during a prostitution sweep of Harbor Boulevard on Dec. 19. FILE PHOTO: KEVIN SULLIVAN, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Two women arrested during a recent prostitution sweep of Harbor Boulevard wait to be processed by Santa Ana police. FILE PHOTO: KEVIN SULLIVAN, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Two women arrested during a prostitution sweep of Harbor Boulevard on Dec. 19 sit in the back of a Santa Ana police car. FILE PHOTO: KEVIN SULLIVAN, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Santa Ana police Cmdr. Ken Gominsky chats with a woman arrested during a prostitution sweep of Harbor Boulevard on Dec. 19. FILE PHOTO: KEVIN SULLIVAN, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Santa Ana Police Officer Joe Hamlin walks a woman to a squad car after she was arrested during a prostitution sweep of Harbor Boulevard on Dec. 19. FILE PHOTO: KEVIN SULLIVAN, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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